Returning Individual Tap Water Testing Results to Research Study Participants after a Wildfire Disaster

After the devastating wildfire that destroyed most of the town of Paradise, California in 2018, volatile organic compounds were found in water distribution pipes. Approximately 11 months after the fire, we collected tap water samples from 136 homes that were still standing and tested for over 100 chemicals. Each participant received a customized report showing the laboratory findings from their sample. Our goal was to communicate individual water results and chemical information rapidly in a way that was understandable, scientifically accurate, and useful to participants. On the basis of this process, we developed a framework to illustrate considerations and priorities that draw from best practices of previous environmental results return research and crisis communication, while also addressing challenges specific to the disaster context. We also conducted a follow-up survey on participants’ perceptions of the results return process. In general, participants found the results return communications to be understandable, and they felt less worried about their drinking water quality after receiving the information. Over one-third of the participants reported taking some kind of action around their water usage habits after receiving their results. Communication with participants is a critical element of environmental disaster research, and it is important to have a strategy to communicate results that achieves the goals of timeliness, clarity, and scientific accuracy, ultimately empowering people toward actions that can reduce exposure.

DIGITAL TWIN FOR INDOOR DISASTER IN SMART CITY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Technology has advanced and progressed tremendously, and the term city is being elevated to a new level where the smart city has been introduced globally. Recent developments in the concept of smart city have led to a renewed interest in Digital Twin. Using precise Building Information Modelling (BIM) consolidated with big data and sensors, several attempts have been made to establish digital twin smart cities. In recent years, several researchers have sought to determine the capability of smart city and digital twin for various taxonomies such as development and urban planning purposes, built environment, manufacturing, environmental, disaster management, and healthcare. Despite being beneficial in many disciplines, especially in manufacturing, built environment, and urban planning, these existing studies have shown a lack of aspect in terms of emergency or disaster-related as opposed to the elements mentioned above. This is because the researcher has not treated emergencies or disasters in much detail. Therefore, an extensive review on smart city, digital twin, BIM and disaster management and technology that revolves around these terms were summarised. In general, 39 articles from prominent multidisciplinary databases were retrieved over the last two decades based on the suggested PRISMA workflow. These final articles were analysed and categorised into four themes based on the research content, gist, and keywords. Based on the review of 39 articles related to smart city, digital twin and BIM, a workflow for the smart city digital twin and the conceptual framework for indoor disaster management was proposed accordingly. The establishment of smart city digital twins solely for an indoor emergency can be beneficial to urbanites, and it could provide numerous benefits for enhanced situation assessment, decision making, coordination, and resource allocation.

Drought: A Common Environmental Disaster

Droughts have been identified as an environmental hazard by environmentalists, ecologists, hydrologists, meteorologists, geologists, and agricultural experts. Droughts are characterised by a decrease in precipitation over a lengthy period, such as a season or a year, and can occur in virtually all climatic zones, including both high and low rainfall locations. This study reviewed drought-related impacts on the environment and other components particularly, in South Africa. Several attempts have been made using innovative technology such as earth observation and climate information as recorded in studies. Findings show that the country is naturally water deficient, which adds to the climate fluctuation with the average annual rainfall in South Africa being far below the global average of 860 mm per year. Drought in South Africa’s Western Cape Province, for example, has resulted in employment losses in the province’s agriculture sector. According to the third quarterly labor force survey from 2017, the agricultural industry lost almost 25,000 jobs across the country. In the Western Cape province, about 20,000 of these were lost which has a direct impact on income generation. Many of these impacts were linked to drought events.

Determination the rational locations of territorial emergency response teams in the area of possible emergency situations of natural and technogenic nature

Due to frequent emergency cases at hazardous production facilities, which can lead to an environmental disaster, material and social damage, the issue of using the rational locations of territorial emergency response teams in the area of responsibility is the most relevant. The greatest weight if it is necessary to determine the rational place for the permanent deployment of territorial emergency rescue units created by the state authorities of the subject of the Russian Federation. Due to the lack of guidance documents and methodological recommendations for determining the permanent location of territorial emergency rescue units, this task was solved in each constituent entity of the Russian Federation in its own way and with a significant degree of subjectivity. It is proposed to use an algorithm for determining the permanent location of the rescue formation in the area of responsibility based on the probability of calling the formation to incidents, accidents and emergencies.

Effect of Curing Temperature on the Properties of Latex Based Membrane for Oily Wastewater Filtration

Oily wastewater pollution has always been part of the most serious worldwide environmental disaster. Thus, the treatment of oily wastewater is notably crucial. In this work, nitrile butadiene rubber/graphene oxide (NBR/GO) membranes were fabricated by latex compounding and curing method which is comparatively brand-new technique to produce membranes for wastewater treatment. Therefore, the steps in the production need to be studied to enhance the performance of the membrane. Curing temperature is an important factor in the production of the latex-based membrane. In this paper, the effect of curing temperature in the range of 90 °C – 110 °C on the morphology, tensile properties, permeation flux, and oil rejection rate performance of the membrane was studied. The curing temperature was found to affect the surface morphology and integrity of the membranes which sequentially affects the performance of the membrane in terms of strength, permeation flux, and oil rejection rate. NBR/GO membranes cured at the temperature of 100 °C exhibit the highest flux of 491.84 L/m2.hr with an oil rejection rate of 95.44 %, with the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), elongation break (EB%), and E-Modulus (E-mod) of 34.490 MPa, 1627.11 %, and 1.309 MPa, respectively.

The formation of a system of Cossack and mountain forest services in the territory of modern Karachay-Cherkessia in the pre-revolutionary period

В статье освещается один из важных аспектов экономической истории, связанный с отраслью лесного хозяйства на территории современной Карачаево-Черкесской республики. Хищническая эксплуатация лесных богатств региона во второй половине XIX в. со стороны местного горского и казачьего населения детерминировала государственное и общественное вмешательство в данную сферу, главной целью которого было не только желание предотвратить экологическую катастрофу и упорядочить пользование лесами, но и учесть потребности населения, сохранить рентабельность лесного хозяйства. В центре внимания автора находятся аспекты, относящиеся к возникновению системы войсковых и общественных лесничеств в имперский период. Рассматриваются вопросы, связанные с финансовой деятельностью данных структур, отмечается динамика их расходов и доходов, указывается штатный состав лесничеств, акцентируется внимание на проблемах кадрового состава и существовании коррупционных схем. Данная работа впервые освещает возникновение в нагорной части Верхней Кубани природоохранных структур, их правовые виды, комплекс их функций (административных, защитных, надзорных, технических, хозяйственных и др.), нормативную основу, содержание и ареал их деятельности. Автор отмечает основные проблемы отрасли, характер и динамику освоения лесных ресурсов региона, эффективность деятельности службы охраны лесов. The article highlights one of the important aspects of economic history related to the forestry industry in the territory of the modern Karachay-Cherkess Republic. The predatory exploitation of the region's forest wealth in the second half of the 19th century on the part of the local mountain and Cossack population determined state and public intervention in this area. Its main goal was not only the desire to prevent an environmental disaster and streamline the use of forests, but also to take into account the needs of the population, to preserve the profitability of forestry. The author focuses on aspects related to the emergence of a system of military and public forest services during the imperial period. The paper deals with the issues related to the financial activities of these structures, the dynamics of their expenses and income, the staff of forest services, attention is focused on the problems of personnel composition and the existence of corruption schemes. This work for the first time highlights the emergence of environmental protection structures in the upland part of the Upper Kuban, their legal types, the complex of their functions (administrative, protective, supervisory, technical, economical etc.), the normative basis, content and range of their activities. The author notes the main problems of the industry, the nature and dynamics of the development of forest resources in the region, the effectiveness of the forest protection service.

Health Impact of Drying Aral Sea: One Health and Socio-Economical Approach

Once one of the largest saline lakes, the Aral Sea, was recognized as a significant environmental disaster as the water level decreased dramatically. Water level decrease increases water salinity, affecting biodiversity. Exposed lake beds become the source for fine dust picked up by the dust storms and spread across a long distance, affecting people’s health in surrounding areas. This review paper attempts to evaluate the potential links between the Aral Sea shrinking and the existing health issues in the case of Kazakhstan. The literature-based research revealed that the population of the Aral Sea basin region has been suffering from exposure to various pollutant residues for a long time. There is an apparent increase in morbidity and mortality rates in the region, especially in people suffering from chronic illness. Furthermore, the catastrophic desiccation of the Aral Sea has led to the sharp deterioration in living conditions and negative trends in the socio-economic situation of the region’s population. While the dust storms spread the polluted salts from the exposed bottom across the Aral Sea region, specific contaminants define the relevance and importance of public health problems linked to the basin rather than the Aral Sea drying process. There is, however, no clear evidence that associated dust storms are the only primary source of the deterioration of people’s health. Moreover, One Health approach seems to play a crucial role in achieving better outcomes in the health of people and the health of the environment.

“Earth Girl Won’t Stand For It!”: Representations of Environmental (In)Justice in Mayah’s Lot

As the global climate crisis escalates, environmental disaster and extreme weather will play a defining role in the lives of many of today’s children, particularly those from impoverished communities and communities of color. However, environmental children’s literature has overwhelmingly failed to educate readers about environmental injustice or equip them with the tools to combat these pressing issues. Rebecca Bratspies and Charlie La Greca’s Mayah’s Lot counters this troubling silence by empowering children to pursue environmental justice. The comic centers on Mayah, a young Black girl who discovers that a corporation plans to transform a vacant lot in her urban neighborhood into a toxic waste storage facility. Mayah joins forces with her neighbors to halt the development, participating in protests, community meetings, and legal action. The comic concludes with the community defeating the corporation and collaborating to turn the lot into public green space. By highlighting the intersections between environmental and racial inequalities, along with showcasing a range of viable community activist strategies, I argue that Mayah’s Lot demonstrates how environmentally-justice oriented comics can empower young readers to participate in environmental advocacy and develop resilience in the face of environmental disruption.